Mode of and means for making chilled ball-bearings



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. v

P. W. GATES.

Mode of and Mean 'fol Making Chilled Ball arlngs.

Patented June 28,1881.

id i'znessesx I [72 72207 (No Model.) 2 Sheet s-Sheet 2 V P. W. GATES. IMode of and Mean for; Making Chilled Ball earmgs.

No. 243.546. Patented June 28,1881.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

PHILETUS GATES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MODE OF AND MEANS FOR MAKING CHILLED BALL-BEARINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,546, dated June 28,1881. Application filed March 29, 1881. (No model.)

Myinvention relates specially to the ball-bear; ings used instone-breakers, such bearings being made with their outer surfacecylindrical and their inner surfacein form of part of a sphere, and alsoof several equal sections which form, respectively, a segment of acylinder with an interior outline which is a true part of a sphere. Abearing of this description, but not chilled, is shown in Letters PatentNo. 201,646.

The nature of my invention consists,'first,'

in the mode hereinafter described, whereby bearings of the characterabove referred to are produced with a chilled interior bearing-surfacein form of part of a sphere; second, in the'means hereinafter describedfor producing the ball-bearings with interior chilled surface.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective sectional viewof the pattern which is first employed to produce the impression in themold and the cope. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the chillingpattern-ball and parting-plates which are introduced into the mold afterthepattern is withdrawn. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the sand-moldand the cope as they appear after the pattern shown in Fig. 1 iswithdrawn from the mold. Fig. 4 is a top View of the sand-mold and itsflow-gates and sprue, the cope being removed and the pattern-ball andpartingplates with a bearing castin the mold being'shown. Fig. 5 is avertical section of Fig. 4 with the cope in position upon the mold. Fig.6 is a section of the chilled bearing and the chilling patternball uponwhich it is cast, it being shown withdrawn from the mold, separated fromthe parting-pla'tes, supplied with Babbitt sustainingmetal at its ends,and centered by. means of sockets of the ball and its stem in a lathefor the purpose of having its unchilled exterior cylindrical surfaceturned true. Fig. 7 is a side" view of one of the parting-platesseparated from the chilled casting or bearin g. Fig. 8 is a perspectiveview of one of the segments sand surrounding the channels 70.

of the chilled casting or bearing. Fig. 9 is a perspective View of aleadspherical polisher having'a hard-metal stem, whereby emery and oil areapplied to the concave surfaces of the segments for the purpose ofsmoothing the same; and Fig. 10 is a top view and partial section,showing a segment of the chilled hearing, and also the polishing-tooland its stock.

Fig. ll is a perspective View of the finished chilled segmental bearing.

A in the accompanying drawings represents a pattern which is employedfor producing the impression in the sand of a flask, B, and cope G. Thispattern consists of a cylindrical body portion, D, with hollowed-outends, a a,radial wings E, extending beyond the circumference of saidbody portion D, spherical portions F F, and a cylindricalcentering-stem, G. This pattern is centered by its stem Gin anyappropriate manner, and then sand is put into the flask and rammedaround the pattern until the flask is full. Gates 1) are now formed, and

the cope G is adjusted in position upon the mold, and sand also rammedinto it until it is full. A sprue, b, is formed in the sand of the cope,and made to communicate with th'e'gates.

By the above-described process a mold in sand is produced, consisting ofa cylindrical chamber, j, narrow radial channels, it, a conical seat, I,concave or partly-spherical depression m, a cylindrical socket, 'n, aconcave or partly-spherical depression, 41, and a conical seat, h, asshown in Fig. 3. Into this mold is placed a perfectly smooth iron orsteel ball, H, having a stem, H, and upon this ball are placed metallicplates I, which are very thin and have their inner edges concave,asshown at I, Fig. 2. The ball and its stem are formed withcentering-sockets f 3 f and the surfaces of the plates are japanned orotherwise suitably coated to prevent them from adhering to the castmetal of which the bearingis formed. The plates are adjusted by means oftheir concave edges upon the ball, as illustrated in Fig. 2, in order tobe readily passed down with it into the sand-mold without touching the Hof the ball H sets into socket a, andthe plates into the radial channelsit, while the ball itself occupies thechamherj, as shown in Fig. 5. Theball occupies a true central posi- The stem tion and. the plates areradial to the ball, they being adjusted radially out into the channels70 after being introduced into the mold, so that their concave edges 1stand away from the ball just far enough to allow a narrow web ofcasting-metal from the gates to flow between them and the ball in thecasting process, and thereby temporarily hold together the severalsegments which are being cast to form a bearing, J. In order to thuseffect the temporary union of the segments of the casting or bearing Jin the casting process the channels 7c are made deep enough radially topermit the plates to be moved the required distance away from the ball.It is important to thus have the segments of the hearing or castingremain united temporarily, as it is necessary to center the casting orbearing in a lathe for the purpose of turning off its cylindricalsurface to a true circle.

The casting or bearing is produced by flowing molten metal in the usualmanner along the gates into the vacant parts of the mold. In the castingoperation the hearing has its outer surface and radial parting surfacesleft unchilled, the sand mold and parting plates not acting to chillthese surfaces, while its interior or spherical surface is chilled, thehard-metal ball imparting the chill thereto. The bearing thus cast isremoved from the mold with all its segments united in a tempo rary wayby the webs of metal q, and. when removed Babbitt or other suitablemetal, w, is run into its hollowed ends and into the splits formed bythe parting strips or plates I after said plates have been withdrawn.The Bab bitt metal may be made to occupy more or less of the space ofsplits, and it may be applied in one or both of the hollowed ends of thecasting or bearing. Its purpose is to form a sustaining support for thecasting while it is centered in a lathe,and its cylindrical surface isbeing turned off true, as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Thesegments of the casting are next properly broken apart at the webs q,and the rough or fractured edges of the several segments are ground offsmooth with an emery-wheel; and, finally, the segments are polished ontheir concave or partlyspherical surface by means of emery and oil, andfor accomplishing this operation a tool, K, consisting of a soft-leadhead, 00, of the form of part of a sphere, and a steel or. iron shank,z, is provided and secured in the stock of an ordinary drill. With thistool and emery and oil the concave or partly-spherical surface of therespective segments is polished, being subjected for a few minutes tothe action of the tool and emery and oil, the tool having a rotarymotion with its stock and the emery embedding itself sufficiently intothe soft lead to insure its polishing action.

By my invention a chilled ball-bearing is produced by the castingprocess, and at slight cost, and such bearing will, when in use but ashort time, become very highly polished on its concave surface, itappearing as bright as a mirror; and it has been found that this hearingis capable of enduring the most powerful wearing action without anyperceptible diminution of its diameter, whereas with other bearings notchilled, and used in the same place on a stone-breaker, the wear is sogreat that it has been found almost impracticable to employ suchbearings, even when a compensating mechanism is provided for taking upthe wear in connection with the same.

A given size bearin g of this description, as heretofore constructedwithout a chilled surface, required about one weeks time to make it,whereas by my mode only a half-day is cocupied in making my bearing, andbesides this the ordinary bearing is of little use, as the greatpressure required for breakingeven limestone causes it to be crushed outin about sixty days; and in breakers for crushing granite and iron ore,where the pressure is immense, the hearing will hardly stand one daysuse, while with my chilled hearing all pressures within ordinary rangecan be withstood, and without any perceptible looseness between the balland its bearing occurring.

I have described in the aforegoing specification, and also shown in theaccompanying drawings, the improved hollow chilled ballbearing producedby my invention herein claimed; but under this patent only the mode ofand means for producing such bearing is claimed, as I intend to applyfor a separate patent for the bearing itself.

I What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- 1. The mode, substantially as herein described, of producingbearings in segments, which respectively have their concave orpartlyspherical inner surface chilled, consisting in forming asand-mold, having radial channels, a cylindrical chamber, astem-socket,'and concave depressions in form of parts ofa sphere,setting ahall and suitably coated radial parting-plates within thismold, and adjusting the plates so that a small space is formed betweenthem and the ball, flowing the metal into the mold, so that radial websof the casting metal unite the segments of the casting formed in themold, removing the casting with its segments still united, withdrawingthe parting-plates, flowing Babbitt or other metal upon the ends of thecasting, turning olf the cylindrical surface of the casting while thesegments are still united by webs of metal, breaking apart the segmentswhere united by the webs of metal, and dressing off the fractured edges,and polishing the concave surfaces of the segments with suitablepolishing materials and tools, all as set forth.

2. The combination, with a sand-flask and its cope, of the pattern A,provided with surfaces inform of a cylinder, audparts of a sphere, andwith'a stem and radial wings, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a sand-mold hav the form of a part of a hollowsphere, said seg 1 ments being united by temporary webs of metal, andsurrounding a chilling centering metal ball, substantially as and forthe purpose herein described.

6. The detached coated parting-plates, having a concave edge, incombination with a metal chilling-ball, having a centering stem andsockets, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

' PHILETUS W. GATES. e Witnesses:

J. O. J oNEs, L. W. HEWES-

